It’s a bit of an understatement to say that these are not very happy times but, being an optimist by nature, I have been looking for things to cheer me up. Here are some of them (organised totally at random).
This year the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. If you are able, do pop along to the Guildhall and view the super garden that has been created there to recognise the occasion …
I think it is sweet that people still leave small tokens on this memorial to William Blake in Bunhill Burial Ground, even though his grave is now marked out elsewhere …
His actual burial place (photographed shortly after a marker was placed there) …
A couple of my attempts to photograph both the new Moon and the planet Venus (the slightly smudged light in the sky on the right) …
A better picture from early January …
Our Orchid Christmas present from 2023 has flowered again …
High point of the week, the arrival of a fresh set of cards from brilliant local artist Jill Green …
Check out her website for lots of other handcrafted goods, including lovely leather items : www.shopjill.com
I visited the Threadneedle Hotel for the first time and encountered this magnificent glass dome …
I’m going to visit again and write more about its history (and the cocktail bar looks tempting) …
Another splendid dome at 10 Trinity Square …
Read more about it, and the building it is in, here.
A time-travelling office worker from the 1970s would look at this picture and wonder why everyone in the office seemed to be watching TV …
The power and attraction of sporting competition. Advertising board outside a bar/restaurant in Madeira in Febrauary …
Funchal Botanical Gardens …
I found this ice cream cone really scary …
Portuguese knick-knacks …
City church weathervanes glimpsed from a distance.
St Giles Cripplegate …
The St Lawrence Jewry gridiron weathervane …
St Lawrence was martyred in San Lorenzo on 10 August 258 AD in a particularly gruesome fashion, being roasted to death on a gridiron. At one point, the legend tells us, he remarked ‘you can turn me over now, this side is done’. Appropriately, he is the patron saint of cooks, chefs and comedians.
The Minotaur at dusk with the Roman/Medieval wall in the background …
A cormorant glides past Mrs Coot sitting on her nest …
Mr Coot is pottering about nearby at the top of the picture.
Aquatic themed corridor in Tonbridge Grammar School …
A favourite ghost sign at Finchley Road Underground Station …
The Bryant family produced three generations of chimney sweeps and the family history is, according to one researcher, a tale of ‘intrigue, betrayal and bigamy’. You can find their research on Instagram. Another person was curious enough to trace the family history using various databases such as Ancestry UK. You can read what they discovered here. A visit to Finchley Road Station will never be the same again!
The London Jewish ‘Mural’ on Finchley Road …
Spooky charity shop models …
48-inch waist, I reckon …
Six’, the musical, at the Vaudeville Theatre, put us in a great frame of mind. And they allow pictures to be taken of the finale …
I’ll finish the blog with a laugh from one of the best political cartonists …
If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …
